Pet Peeves!

Do you have pets? I do, I have 2 kitties. I used to think I was a dog-person, but after getting my first cat, Shango, I quickly realized how funny and cool cats can be. Yes, they are quite independant, and may only give you the time of day when they feel like it, are hungry, or just because it's what they want to do at this moment.... But, they have very cool personalities.

Shango, who will be 7 years old in 2 weeks, is mellow, lazy and a total lover boy. Since I only had dogs around me when growing up, I taught him how to come when he's called, and to sit when I tell him so.... Took some time, but he totally does, promise!

Jazz... Well, she's definitely a typical cat. She does totally as she pleases... She's super cool though, quite the "scardy-cat" but hilarious too. She talks back and only comes to sit on me if I have a blanket on my lap. She will be 7 next October.

I knit, crochet and basically am in love with yarn and fiber crafts. I do it all the time, daily, and I basically go into withdrawls if I don't "make time for yarn everyday" (quote from a TV show: Knitting Daily).

My cats know they need to respect my yarn, and I do realize it's a great challenge for them... I mean, they are cats after all....

There is one particular brand of yarn that I particularly love..... Malabrigo yarn. It's not the fanciest, or the most expensive, but it's my favorite. I love the colors, the feel of it between my fingers and how well it knits and crochets.

I use the word Malabrigo often in my house, so it's now a common term... Hehe.... So common, in fact, that the kitties actually know not to play with it. I'm serious!

Shango loves to snuggle, he will approach slowly, tentatively place his paw on my arm and if the coast is clear, he will climb on me and lay down.... It's cute, really.

But.... if he hears "not now, love, it's Malabrigo", he knows.... He will lay next to me instead.

Do you have pets? Have some fun stories to share about your "pet peeves"?

Cozy and warm... finished!

Well, it took some time to finish.... Not because the project was complex, but because I kept running out of yarn! Who knew finding more Lion Brand yarn would be a challenge!

I originally received the first set of skeins from my parents at Christmas, a ball of each color. Since a blanket was my project of choice, I knew I would need to get more balls....

I started with JoAnn's, got a few balls there, easy-peasy. Then, I ran out of the green... got some more, ran out again. Man, this blanket takes way more yarn than expected! LOL

Then, JoAnn's ran out too! Michael's and Beverly's didn't carry that specific color, so I got a couple of balls online. Then, I ran out AGAIN! but with only 12 rows to go (on a decrease, too... so little yarn needed).... ugh, right!

Finally, I found some again, at my trusted JoAnn's store.... Hurray! :)
Anyway.... That's my story, I'm stickin' to it, and snuggling as I do!

I think the blanket looks pretty cool, what do you think? I wanted to play with the stripes, makes them un-even and random...

It's super warm and definitely very cozy! I can't wait to take it up to the mountains and snuggle with my man on a chilly evening.... Sip some tea, watch a good movie or read something fun, like maybe some Poe.

Cozy and warm...

My mom got me some really chunky yarn for Christmas, 1 ball of 3 different colors (dark yellow, deep green and red). I was excited, but wasn't sure what to make in this bulky weight.

Looking at the colors, it really reminded me of fall, the Sierras and spending time cozied up by a fire with a good book or watching a good movie with my honey.

So, I looked up some knitted blanket designs. Being still new to knitting, I wanted something that would look cute, but still simple. For this weight, I didn't think having a motif or complex design would really work, but I found the perfect pattern from Lion Brand (also the yarn I used): Baby Love Diagonal Blanket. It's very easy to make (and quite the popular pattern), in fact, I was thinking it would be much harder than it really is.... A diagonal design.... hmmm, must call for lots of increases and decreases and some fancy trick with needles. Haha... nope, just a simple yarn over, that's it!

I'll take better pictures when it's done, but for now, I was excited to share this much :)

Potholders galore!

My good friend Susan made these really neat crochet potholders. They are SUPER easy, so I wanted to try the pattern.... SO fun, let me tell you! Check out Susan's potholders too: SoSue

I started with one, to check it out... Then, another since it took no time to make. Now, i'm working on a pile! I've purchased all sorts of cotton yarn at JoAnn's (Lily's Sugar N' Cream).

I'm making some with a hanging loop, some without...

What are you working on?

once upon a time...

... life got complicated.

There was a time, when dad would take care of all those little sad moments, family problems and basically your average pains. Kiss my boo-boo, make it better, "daddy, fix it!".

Do you know about "Franken-Barbie"? ahhh... Well, when we were kids, lived in France, our dad traveled to the US a lot, for business. Needless to say, he brought us back some really cool toys, that our friends didn't get. So, our house was a popular playground. One of these toys was a really neat Barbie. She had the latest fashion designs, cool hair, etc... So, we all wanted to play with her. So much that it broke! Yep, right in the middle of the neck, it just broke, naked with no fancy outfit on.... So, being a kid, I naturally ran to dad, handing over the broken pieces, saying "dad, look.... Barbie's sick, can you help fix it??????". Dad being a fixer, looked at me, and said "oh sure, be right back". He goes into the garage, where all them fancy tools are at.... We hear some banging, sawing, drilling, phew.... all sorts of good stuff in there... Get this, Dad comes back in, all smiles.... hands me the "new" Barbie and says "look, all better!". Uhhhh.... WHAT IS THAT!? Barbie had this huge-ass bolt and screw in the middle of her neck! How in the hell am I going to play with her, and you know, dress her up? Well, we grew up learning to appreciate what we had, so I thanked my dad (even though I was more than super disappointed) and went back upstairs.... After morning our loss, we decided to call her FrankenBarbie..... Yep, I think Mom still has it somewhere in the attic... Still naked! LOL

Now that we are adults, there is no do-overs and reality can hit pretty hard. I have a strong family, I am a strong person and I have an amazing circle of close friends, who I know I can count on. That's priceless.

I guess this post is all about appreciating what I have, counting my blessings and re-evaluating what I may have taken for granted for years now.... I don't practice much, but I am Catholic and do believe in Him. I know He works in mysterious ways, but man... sometimes, it's a hard pill to swallow! ... So, I pray... I pray for strength, for happiness, for recovery, for everything to be ok where it really counts.

Everything is going to be ok.

Zumba!

Our workplace rocks, right... We have many benefits, and one of them is a fully equipped gym (newly renovated). There is a full line of classes offered throughout the week, and since last week, a Zumba class!

Don't know about you, but I'm pretty much as white as can be when it comes to dancing.... hehe. I have rythm (from my years of playing piano and being harrassed by my metronome) but I can't seem to get my body to "shake it" and "jiggle it" (well, I take that back, everything does jiggle and it's scary!) like the instructor... She makes this looks guuuuud baby! :)

So, today, I tried it. It's actually lots of fun, even if you have no clue what you're doing! hah! My BFF and I tried it for the first time. Let me tell ya... it'll work ya! phew... I'm sure we burnt some serious calories...

I definitely didn't have the energy I wanted to fully get myself going, but with time I think I could enjoy this... Have you ever tried it?

PS: I would get my butt kicked to next week if my Physical Therapist found out I exercised on my bad ankle, so don't tell.... shhhh ;)

Bread and potholder

This weekend was a comfort-oriented couple of days... I haven't been feeling 100% lately and since the weather was all in my favor (gloomy, cloudy and awesome!), I thought I'd cheer myself up by baking.... who know how I got to that thinking, but this made sense, right?

So, here I am, looking in the pantry for all the necessary ingredients to make my favorite banana bread. Sorry folks, no nuts in my bread. Oh, and of course, I used my super blender... LOVE THAT THING!

Well it turned out super yummy.... A couple of slices later and a nice big cup of hot tea, I was in Haven!

What to do next? well, hey... why not make a potholder! so I did (picture represents potholder just finished, not yet blocked).... hehe.... I had this neat little pattern for a dragonfly motif potholder, that I've been wanting to try. I ended up making 2 of the same, so I could double side it and make it thicker. The yarn used was a little too bulky (Red Heart soft), so the potholder turned out a little larger than I imagined... but I don't mind, I might use it as a trivet instead... A multi functional little dragonfly!

So, what did you do this weekend?